MJ Cole

Matthew James Firth Coleman (born on August 9, 1973), better known as MJ Cole, is the London-born UK garage legend whose landmark debut album of 2000, Sincere, peaked at Number 14 on the UK Albums Chart and spawned two Top 20 hits in "Crazy Love" and its much-loved 1998 title track. Sincere, which was nominated for a Mercury Music Prize and a BRIT Award, showcased Cole's classically trained nous with piano runs and jazzy flourishes while championing the skippy rhythms and soulful vocals characteristic of the 2-step garage genre he helped pioneer. Cole, who was born in and grew up in London, studied the oboe and piano and earned a degree in music from City University. He subsequently became a mainstay of the electronic music scene, working for drum 'n' bass label SOUR before setting up his own label, Prolific Records. After being drawn into the world of garage, Cole began producing tracks for garage imprint V.I.P. (Very Important Plastic) as well as working as a pirate radio DJ. Following the release of Sincere, he dropped his second album Cut to the Chase – also via Gilles Peterson's Talkin' Loud label – in 2003. Cole spent the next decade releasing a steady stream of singles, EPs and collaborations, including 2009 EP Battle Stations with Zed Bias and featuring MC Fox, and 2018 EP Foundations. He has produced music for an impressive roster of artists, including Dizzee Rascal and Katy B, while also notching up remixes for the likes of Alicia Keys, De La Soul, Mariah Carey and the late Amy Winehouse. In 2020, Cole released his first album in 17 years, the classically-inspired MJ Cole Presents Madrugada; an instrumental album of piano and strings.

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